


I Love Someone Else

by BigTimeMoch



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Mentions of homophobia, Mild Hurt/Comfort, link gets cold feet, this was originally written for another fandom but i couldnt resist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 06:10:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19145134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigTimeMoch/pseuds/BigTimeMoch
Summary: He should've said no from the start — that he loved someone else. That he loved Rhett.Or the one where Link is marrying someone else but gets cold feet because he loves Rhett. I wrote this back in the day for another fandom, but a couple of days ago I found it and decided to dust it off and revamp it for rhink.





	I Love Someone Else

**Author's Note:**

> A million thank you´s for ssodangdark for being a lovely beta and helping me make this pile of trash something worth reading. Enjoy.

"Ready for the big day?" A voice startled Link from behind. He closed the fridge door and turned around to face Rhett.

"Not really," he confessed with a whisper. His friend arched a bushy brow.

"What do you mean?"

Link sighed. He'd never mentioned anything to anyone, but he knew he could trust Rhett. He  _ is _ his best friend after all.

"I think this might be a mistake." Rhett looked at him like he had suddenly sprouted two heads, then laughed.

"You just say that because you're nervous, man. Common case of cold feet. You'll see tomorrow, when you walk down the aisle and see him standing there, you'll realize that he's the one for you." Rhett sounded so full of confidence, it made Link's heart hurt a little.

"But-"

"No buts," he interrupted. "Just go to bed, you need to sleep. Tomorrow is your day and we can't have you looking like a raccoon." And with that, he left Link alone in the kitchen.

Link went back to his room. Everything was dark except for his digital alarm clock. 12:30 the numbers screamed back at him. He'd been trying to sleep since 9 pm, but sleep seemed to elude him that night. He had thought that a midnight snack would help, but what Rhett said just made him feel worse, a million thoughts racing through his mind. 

He sighed again. He lay on his back and looked at the ceiling. Tomorrow he would make the worst mistake of his life: marrying someone he didn’t love.

Since they were kids, he'd had feelings for Rhett. At first he had thought it was just brotherly love, since he didn’t have any siblings. But as he grew older and hormones were added to the equation, it became painfully obvious that not only he was gay, but he also had a massive crush on his best friend.

He kept this hidden from everyone for a long time. He was terrified of their little southern town and their views of homosexuality.

When they finished college and moved to California, Link was greeted with such a diverse community and acceptance, and it felt like a breath of fresh air. He eventually met James, who was out, proud and very vocal about the issues and struggles for the LGBT+ community. Link always liked to think they shared something special because he was the first person he came out to. They met at a small bar at Link's request and he just blurted out "I'm gay" in lieu of a greeting. Rhett was always bitter about that and would grumble if it was mentioned in front of him.  _ It's just that we have  _ history _ together, man. I mean  _ I'm  _ your best friend, not him! _

In Link's defense, he told Rhett that same night. He also vomited all over his carpet, though.

With Rhett's support, he came out to everyone else in his life. He did lose some friends back at home, but no one he would miss terribly.

After a couple of months, James asked him out. Rhett seemed to get a bit jealous when James and Link hung out, so he said yes. If for no other reason than just to cause a reaction. Of course, it didn’t work. He was met with support, encouragement, and even dating advice from his friend. And James was the perfect boyfriend, it seemed. He just couldn’t bring himself to break up with him, even if his heart still did little somersaults when Rhett got a little too close. They had been dating for two years when James asked to marry him.

 

And of course Link said yes. He was completely sure Rhett just  _ didn´t like him like that _ . James was kind, and handsome, and treated him right. They rarely fought and they always had a good time together. James was a safe choice. A catch, really. Any other guy would be so lucky to have him. And Link would be all about that, if it weren’t for a certain blond that he couldn´t get out of his head. 

Link sighed yet again. He should've said no from the start — that he loved someone else. That he loved Rhett.

"I just don’t know what to do!" he said to no one in particular. He looked at the clock. 1 am. He has half an hour closer to his wedding.

"Link, you okay?" Rhett said from outside his bedroom door.

"Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?"

"Well, you- I head you scream and…"

It looked like he was louder than he anticipated. Rhett cracked the door open.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," Link said sheepishly.

"Couldn’t sleep anyways." Rhett opened the door completely. "Want some company?"

"Sure." He shrugged with a smile.

Rhett walked up to the bed without closing the door. There was no one else in the house; everyone else was in the hotel or at James' house. Link rolled over to leave Rhett some room. They lay on their backs, side by side like they did all those years ago when they'd have impromptu sleepovers.

"So, what's the problem?" Rhett broke the silence first.

"Huh?"

"Why do you think you're making a mistake?" 

"Well, I dunno…" he lied. "I mean, James is great but…"

"But what?" Rhett pressed when he didn’t continue. "What is it?"

"What is  _ your  _ problem?" Link angrily asked when he couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse. "Just less than an hour ago you were telling me that I was overthinking and that he's the best for me and  _ now _ you want to know? Good night, Rhett."

Rhett didn’t answer right away. Link turned his back to him.

"I just want the best for you," he said so softly that Link wasn’t sure he was meant to hear it.

He turned back to face Rhett. He felt like an ass. He was just trying to be a good friend and Link was taking all of his frustrations out on him. Now he understood all of the brides screaming at their bridesmaids on those tv shows.

"I'm sorry I'm being an ass. I'm just so stressed and anxious and  _ confused _ I-"

"I get it, don’t worry about it."

They stayed silent for a while. Links eyes wandered to the ceiling again.

"So, are you going to tell me the problem with James?" Rhett broke the silence again.

Link turned his head back to him. Rhett's eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight coming from the bedroom window. They were warm and inviting, full of love and understanding for Link. They'd always felt like home to him.

"I love someone else," he blurted out. Rhett's eyes widened like saucers, but then he frowned.

"Who?" Link knew he was trying to sound curious and understanding, but he was falling short.

"Does it really matter? In a matter of hours I'm marrying James. Also, I don’t think he likes me back, to be honest."

"I mean, it's not too late." He thought out loud, his voice sounding strained to Links ears "You're still single. Also, how do you know he doesn’t like you back? Have you talked to him?"

"Well, no but-"

"Then you don’t know! You just assume, but you don’t realize that you're adorable, funny, nice, cute, you're full of energy, your laugh is contagious. I feel happier just by having you around. Your smile could light up the whole city. Everyone who knows you falls for you. Are you kidding me? He honestly must be stupid if he doesn’t love you."

Link was a little lightheaded. Maybe he had a fever and he was hallucinating or something. And the worst of it was that Rhett was lying there like he hadn't just said the most beautiful things Link had ever heard. He couldn't help but feel a little spark of hope in his chest. Maybe, just maybe…

"Are you going to tell me who he is, then?"

Adrenaline coursed through his body, just like when he and Rhett would jump from the tallest rocks to the river when they were young. He was going to jump and the rest be damned.

"It's you."

It also felt like jumping into the river because there's always silence after you break the surface of the water and go so deep you feel like you might not know if you’re going to surface.

"Rhett… please say something."

"So now I don’t get to say 'I object' at your wedding?"

"What?"

"I love you, Link."

Link was frozen in place. He couldn’t believe what was happening. He definitely was hallucinating.

"What?"

"Can I kiss you?" Rhett was getting exasperated, so he just nodded silently.

Rhett leaned in and kissed him softly. Link thought of all of the times he kissed James wishing it was Rhett instead. How he'd wished to open his eyes and see green eyes looking back at him. Rhett started to pull away because he wasn’t kissing him back, so he put his arms around Rhett's neck and pulled him back in. Link kissed him hard, trying to pour into it the feelings he'd had since high school.

"See, I told you he'd love you back." Rhett chuckled when they separated.

Rhett kissed him again, this time pulling him by the waist towards his chest. Link tightened his arms and wove his legs between Rhett's. They stayed like that for a while, occasionally kissing softly or just enjoying being in each other's arms.

"Rhett, what am I gonna do?" Link whispered after a while.

"Go to sleep," Rhett answered.

"No, man, I mean tomorrow-"

"Go to sleep," he interrupted. "We have to get up early tomorrow morning."

Link looked at his best friend's face. He looked excited, but Link couldn’t understand why.

"What? Why? I'm definitely not going to marry James now."

"What if we elope?" Rhett's eyes were shining with excitement, like a child about to do something mischievous.

"What?" Honestly, Link was starting to match Rhett’s excitement at the prospect of just running away and leaving it all behind.

"We can leave tomorrow morning, go to Vegas, get married, and come back." He grinned. Link grinned right back.

"Sounds like a plan to me.” 

**Author's Note:**

> So I was looking through my old fanfiction dot net account and I found that I did post the original of this. It was in Spanish originally and has a post date of May 10th, 2013. THAT´S 7 YEARS YALL. Like I was 14 when I wrote this.   
> This is also the first time I work with a beta, so thanks again to ssodangdark for helping me out!   
> I´ll give you a Pearl Point if you figure out what was the original fandom of this.   
> Leave me a comment and tell me what you thought.


End file.
